"Papua" is the official Indonesian and internationally recognised name for the province.

During the Dutch colonial era the region was known as part of "Dutch New Guinea" or "Netherlands New Guinea". Since its annexation in 1969, it became known as "West Irian" or "Irian Barat" until 1973, and thereafter renamed "Irian Jaya" (roughly translated, "Glorious Irian") by the Suharto administration.[3][4] This was the official name until the name "Papua" was adopted in 2002. Today, the indigenous inhabitants of this province prefer to call themselves Papuans.

The name "West Papua" was adopted in 1961 by the New Guinea Council until the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) transferred administration to the Republic of Indonesia in 1963. "West Papua" has since been used by Papuans as a self-identifying term, especially by those demanding self-determination, and usually refers to the whole of the Indonesian portion of New Guinea. The other Indonesian province that shares New Guinea, West Irian Jaya, has been officially renamed as "West Papua".

Within Indonesia and West Papua itself, 'Papua' usually refers to the entire western half of New Guinea despite its division into separate provinces.[citation needed] Western New Guinea is generally referred to as 'West Papua' internationally – especially among networks of international solidarity with the West Papuan independence movement.[citation needed]

The province of Papua is governed by a directly elected governor (currently Lukas Enembe) and a regional legislature, DPRP (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua).[citation needed] A government organisation that only exists in Papua is the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua / Papuan People's Council), which was formed by the Indonesian Government in 2005 as a coalition of Papuan tribal chiefs, tasked with arbitration and speaking on behalf of Papuan tribal customs.

Indonesian sovereignty over Papua dates back to 1969, when Indonesia conducted a referendum on the self-determination of the peoples of Papua under an agreement with the United Nations to respect any result. Instead of conducting a democratic referendum amongst the general population, Indonesian security forces forcibly coerced a small number of tribal elders to vote to join Indonesia; some elders were not even made aware that a referendum was to be conducted beforehand. Nevertheless, the agreement with the UN was nominally upheld, and was recognised by the international community in spite of protests. This intensified the independence movement among indigenous West Papuans, deepening the Papua conflict, which began when the Dutch withdrew from the East Indies in 1963. The conflict has continued to the present, with Indonesian security forces being accused of numerous human rights abuses in their suppression of the independence movement. The Indonesian government maintains tight control over the region, barring foreign journalists or rights monitors from entering; those who do must do so covertly.[5]

In 1999 it was proposed to split the province into three government-controlled sectors, sparking Papuan protests.[6] In January 2003 President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed an order dividing Papua into three provinces: Central Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Tengah), Papua (or East Irian Jaya, Irian Jaya Timur), and West Papua (Irian Jaya Barat). The formality of installing a local government for Jaraka in Irian Jaya Barat (West) took place in February 2003 and a governor was appointed in November; a government for Irian Jaya Tengah (Central Irian Jaya) was delayed from August 2003 due to violent local protests. The creation of this separate Central Irian Jaya Province was blocked by Indonesian courts, who declared it to be unconstitutional and in contravention of the Papua's special autonomy agreement. The previous division into two provinces was allowed to stand as an established fact.[7]

As of 2010 (following the separation of West Papua Province in 2003), the residual Papua Province consisted of 28 regencies (kabupaten) and one autonomous city (kotamadya); these regencies and the city are together subdivided into 385 districts (kecamatan), and thence into "villages" (kelurahan and desa).

The regencies ("kabupaten") and the city are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and according to the latest official (January 2014) Estimates.

Mamberamo Raya Regency was formed from parts of Sarmi Regency and Waropen Regency on 15 March 2007 under Law No. 19/2007. The Dogiyai Regency was similarly formed from the southern districts of Nabire Regency in 2007, and five other new regencies were created on 4 January 2008 by Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto who also installed five temporary regents. These five new regencies were:

Central Mamberamo Regency with five districts, with Kobakma as the regental seat. Created by the Law No. 3/2008, the first regent was David Pagawak.

Yalimo Regency also has five districts, with Elelim as the regental capital. Created by the Law No. 4/2008, the first regent was Elia Ibrahim Loupatty.

Lanny Jaya Regency was created by the Law No.5/2008 and has 10 districts. Its first regent was Pribadi Sukartono. The regental capital is Tiom.

Law No. 6/2008 creates Nduga Regency (from part of Jayawijaya Regency) with eight districts and Kenyam as the administrative center. Hans Dortheus was the first regent.

Puncak Regency also has eight districts with Ilaga as the regental seat being created by the Law No. 7/2008. The first regent was Simon Alom.

Intan Jaya Regency and Deiyai Regency were formed during 2008 from parts of Paniai Regency.

On 25 October 2013 the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of 57 prospective regencies/cities (and 8 new provinces).[8] This included two new provinces to be formed from parts of the existing Papua Province (and one new province from West Papua Province), as well as the creation of seventeen new regencies and two new cities (independent municipalities). The new regencies will be Gili Menawa, Moyo, Balin Senter, Bogaga, Puncak Trikora, Muara Digul, Admi Korbay, Katengban, Okika, Northwest Yapen, East Yapen, Numfor Island, Yalimek, Mambera Hulu, Southwest Yahukimo, East Yahukimo, North Yahukimo amd Ghondumi Sisare, and the new cities will be the municipalities of Merauke and Lembah Baliem (Baliem Valley).

The two new provinces from parts of the existing Papua province have recently been approved by Indonesia's House of Representatives: South Papua and Central Papua. Another new province, to be split from West Papua will be Southwest Papua.[9]

The proposed South Papua (Papua Selatan) Province would cover an area of 119,749 square kms, which is rich in natural resources. It will encompass four existing regencies - Asmat, Boven Digoel, Mappi, and Merauke (including Merauke City, scheduled to become a municipality) and will thus equate closely to the original Merauke Regency prior to the splitting of that entity in 2002. Within the existing regencies, new regencies to be added are those of Moyo (from Boven Digoel Regency), Muara Digul and Admi Korbay (both from Mappi Regency).

According to a 20 January 2012 report in the Cenderawasih Pos Jakarta, the central government is moving forward with the creation of "Central Papua". At that time it was envisaged that the new province would comprise ten existing regencies: Supiori, Biak Numfor, Yapen Islands, Waropen, Nabire, Dogiyai, Deiyai, Intan Jaya, Paniai and Mimika.

A central east–west mountain range dominates the geography of the island of New Guinea, over 1,600 km (994 mi) in total length. The western section is around 600 km (373 mi) long and 100 km (62 mi) across.[citation needed] The province contains the highest mountains between the Himalayas and the Andes, rising up to 4,884 m high, and ensuring a steady supply of rain from the tropical atmosphere.[citation needed] The tree line is around 4,000 m elevation and the tallest peaks contain permanent equatorial glaciers,[citation needed] increasingly melting due to a changing climate.[citation needed] Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges.[citation needed] Except in high elevations, most areas possess a hot humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season.

The Yei (pronounced Yay) are sometimes known as the Jei, Je, Yei-nan people.

There are approximately 2,500 speakers of the Yei language. 40% Ethno Religionists- animistic tribal religion 60% Catholics and other Christians (blended with animistic beliefs & customs): The Yei language is believed to have two dialects observed by a Wycliffe, SIL language survey in 2001. At home the Yei people speak their own language but use Indonesian for trade, wider communication and at school. Most Yei are literate in Indonesian.

There are elementary schools in each village. About 10-30% of children continue in middle school. Very few go to high school. The nearest high school is in Merauke city. They live primarily by hunting, fishing, and gardening short and long term crops in the lowlands. The Yei diet mainly consists of rice, vegetables, fish and roasted sago. With their land at an altitude of less than 100 meters above sea level, the Yei people can best be accessed by vehicle on the road from Merauke or by motorized canoe up the Maro River. There is no airstrip or airplane access other than float plane which is currently available from Merauke through MAF by about a 15-minute flight to Toray. The Poo and Bupul villages have a clinic but people still use traditional medicines. There is very little infrastructure in the area: no telephones or toilets. At night electricity is run from a generator. There are single side-band radios (SSBs) in Bupul, Tanas, Poo, and Erambu villages, mainly used by the police and military force. Most villages get their drinking water from the Maro River, but some get it from wells or by collecting rain.[citation needed]

1995 ABC news report on the impact of transmigration and development on the Dani

The population of Papua province has a fertility rate of 2.9 children per woman[citation needed] The population grew from the 1.9 million recorded in the 2000 Indonesia Census, to 2.9 million as recorded by the 2010 Census,[11] and is officially estimated to be at about 3.5 million in 2014. Since the early 1990s Papua has had the highest population growth rate of all Indonesian provinces at over 3% annually.[citation needed] This is partly a result of birth rates, but mainly due to migration from other parts of Indonesia.[citation needed] While indigenous Papuans formed the near-totality of the population in 1961, they are now roughly 50% of the population,[citation needed] the other half being composed of non-Papuan migrants coming from other parts of Indonesia. An overwhelming percentage of these migrants came as part of a government-sponsored transmigration program.[citation needed]

According to the 2010 census, 83.15% of the Papuans identified themselves as Christian with 65.48% being Protestant and 17.67% being Roman Catholic. 15.89% of the population was Muslim and less than 1% were Buddhist or Hindu.[12] There is also substantial practice of animism by Papuans.

The densest population center, other than the large coastal cities that house Indonesian bureaucratic and commercial apparatus, is located in and around the town of Wamena in the Baliem Valley of the Central Highlands.[citation needed]

One of Papua's potential industries is timber, as forests cover 42 million hectares with an estimated worth of Rp.700 trillion ($78 billion). "If the forests are managed properly and sustainably, they can produce over 500 million cubic meters of logs per annum."[14]

The Grasberg Mine, the world's largest gold mine and third largest copper mine,[15] is located in the highlands near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua.

In February 2006, a team of scientists exploring the Foja Mountains, Sarmi, discovered new species of birds, butterflies, amphibians, and plants, including possibly the largest-flowered species of rhododendron.[16]

Ecological threats include logging-induced deforestation, forest conversion for plantation agriculture (including oil palm), smallholder agricultural conversion, the introduction and potential spread of alien species such as the Crab-eating Macaque which preys on and competes with indigenous species, the illegal species trade, and water pollution from oil and mining operations.[citation needed]